Federal contractors, however, missed their goal of awarding 36 percent of subcontracts to small businesses; that number came in at 34 percent.

The federal government awarded 8.6 percent of its prime contracts to socially disadvantaged businesses — primarily minority-owned firms — well above its 5 percent goal. It also beat its 3 percent goal for contracts to businesses owned by service-disabled veterans — they got 3.4 percent of federal contracts.

But it once again missed its 5 percent goal for women-owned businesses (who got 4.3 percent of contracting dollars) and its 3 percent goal for businesses in low-income areas known as Hubzones (1.8 percent).

Still, hitting the overall small business goal gave SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet something to brag about.

“When we hit our small business procurement target, it’s a win,” she said. “Small businesses get the revenue they need to grow and create jobs, and the federal government gets the chance to work with some of the most responsive, innovative and nimble companies in the U.S.”

Agencies’ use of small businesses ranged widely. The Department of Energy awarded only 5.7 percent of its contracting dollars to small businesses, below its goal of 7 percent, while small businesses got 72 percent of the SBA’s contracts.

The Department of Defense, by far the biggest source of federal contracts, awarded 21 percent of its contracts to small businesses, below its 22.5 percent goal.